I know this is a bit longer (at 125 minutes) than most of the films we've seen for this round, but I encourage you to give it a go because this one is supposed to be worth it. It is considered one of, if not the best Filipino film of all time by both critics and audiences. I've heard about it from pinoy friends on other forums but I've never seen anyone talk about it here, nor does it come up in trends. I'd like to end the Class Trip on a high note and hopefully this film follows through. Let's watch it by Sunday August 31st.

Quote:

Himala has won numerous awards and distinctions in the Philippines and abroad, including Best Picture from the 1982 Metro Manila Film Festival and the 1983 Catholic Mass Media Awards.

At the Manila Film Festival, the movie swept 9 of the 11 awards available. Aunor won the Best Actress trophy for her role in the film at the December local film festival, and was nominated for other top acting awards in the Philippines. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival, where Himala vied in the prestigious competition for the Golden Bear Award.[13] The film was personally handpicked by Festival Director Moritz de Hadeln in the official selection.

The film's international honors also included the Bronze Hugo prize at the 1983 Chicago International Film Festival; it received a special religious citation in the 1983 Asia-Pacific Film Festival held in Taipei, Taiwan; and it was selected as the opening film for the 1983 Manila International Film Festival.

Himala was the choice of the Filipino film critics' society Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino as one of the ten best films of the 1980s. In 2002, the same critics' group named Himala one of the best Filipino movies for the last three decades, from 1970 - 1999.

Bernal, the film's director, was conferred the National Artist Award posthumously (he died in 1996). His body of work was accorded the high recognition of Gawad CCP para sa Sining in 1990, and the Centennial Honors for the Arts, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence and Nationhood in 1998.

Himala was the only Filipino film that made it to the shortlist of the Best Asian Films of All Time chosen by CNN International in 2008.[14][15] It was cited for its "austere camera work, haunting score and accomplished performances [that] sensitively portray the harsh social and cultural conditions that people in the third world endure."

1. Nanami: The Inferno of First Love2. The Engagement of Anna3. Freeze, Die, Come to Life!4. The Ball at the Anjō House5. São Bernardo6. Our Neighbour, Miss Yae7. Shopping for Fangs8. Passport for a Corpse9. Himala10. Weddings and Babies11. Distant Journey12. Sérail13. Evdokia14. The Forbidden Quest15. Aksuat16. The Perfume of the Lady in Black17. The Worthless18. Dangerously Excited19. The Man with Three Coffins20. The Policewoman21. The Heart of the Wise Lives in the House of Sorrow

So, I didn't think much to this one, but that whole final sequence does stand out: the fact that Elsa had barely spoken throughout, and yet when she does it is to dramatically debunk everything we have come to associate her with. I guess the film is about faith and faithlessness; about the hysteria of the former, which can then be neatly applied to the contemporary idea of the celebrity. The actress who plays Elsa is actually one of the most famous in the Philippines with something of a cult following, so her performance could also be seen as self-reflexive, which I like.

Was this really only two hours long? Seemed double that. It's well acted and very competently made, but its intended epic-ness clashes with the goofy comedy elements, like the bumbling boyfriends and the cigarette "trick." But, then there's the hours of wailing to balance it out. I guess I don't really 'get' the message. Mass hysteria is never a good thing, surely, and that seems to be where it's going, until the sentimental gloss at the very end. And the priest saying, "Don't let the truth blind us," ugh.

What aspiring director thinks his career would be made with the unveiling of real rape footage (when he'd made no attempt to stop the attack)? All he could think while that was going on was, "Fraud!" and "Scoop!"? Yikes.

I watched 11 of the 12 this round. Here's my uncharacteristically harsh ranking:

1 São Bernardo2 Evdokia3 The Worthless4 Shopping for Fangs5 The Heart of the Wise Lives in the House of Sorrow6 Passport for a Corpse7 Dangerously Excited8 The Ball at the Anjō House9 Aksuat10 Himala11 The Forbidden Quest

sorry I didn't wrte about this yet, I liked parts of it but as Shieldmaiden said GOD it drags, and its sociopolitical commentary is too... ordinary and expected I guess to sustain interest across the first two acts. Religion + poverty = danger! And the film isn't formally interesting enough to make such a rudimentary message pop (although the score was good). Nora Aunor is clearly a terrific actress and you want to keep returning to her but she's sidelined to the point that it is almost a supporting role.

That being said, I'd recommend this for the final setpiece which is worth the run-up, almost. The chaos and horror is balanced really cynically against a kind of cruel humour, and I loved that the film seemed to wake up and show some awareness of itself. It's really a terrific scene, and it makes you examine the filmmaker character in a new light as a symbol of neocolonialist forces I guess. Clever.

I liked the actress who played the prostitute, too, but her character seemed tacked-on.

I got the impression that Elsa had experienced a real miracle, but realised what the hysteria was doing to the people of the village, who were becoming both exploited and exploiters, often doing it to themselves (the mother of the dead son, yikes) so changed her message as an effort to save them. but i'm not sure and i like the ambiguity

Pinoy film has SUCH a huge cult domestically, but I haven't liked too much of what I've seen so far. All the Big Ones seem to be fairly standard melodramas with flashes of thematic insight. I liked Kinatay lots though

I got the impression that Elsa had experienced a real miracle, but realised what the hysteria was doing to the people of the village, who were becoming both exploited and exploiters, often doing it to themselves (the mother of the dead son, yikes) so changed her message as an effort to save them. but i'm not sure and i like the ambiguity

Yeah, that's about what I thought too. It's also true that the more time passes, the less sure you may feel about whether something was 'in your head' or not.

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